INDIAN INSTITUE OF MANAGEMENT

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI

PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT

CASE – 1
“SWEETWATER”

Submitted To:
Prof. Suresh Paul Antony

Submitted By:
Team 01
Chetan Yadav (1701011)
Mayank Lal (1701034)
Satyam Verma (1701045)
Prabhangshu Adhyapak (1701153)
 Case Analysis: SweetWater
Summary: Sandy Platter wants to design a portable water filter device after his bad experience with
the available device in the market during his last trip with his friends. He being an engineer and
having an experience in designing products worth $2 Billion in revenue, takes up this challenge. He
finally comes up with an idea and presents it to his friend Rodriguez who promises to provide him a
seed funding.

Industry: Outdoor Equipment (Adventure Sports)

Product: Water Filtration System for backpackers and Campers

Market Size: $10 million

1. Most Important User needs in the Water Purifier Market:

 Removing Micro-Biological Pathogens – Bacteria, Virus & Protozoa that may lead to
diseases like Cholera, Salmonella, Diarrhoea, etc that could be fatal.
 Removing Harmful Chemicals – Herbicides and Pesticides are effluents that have long
lasting damage on people’s health.
 Removing other Chemicals - Chemicals like Chlorine and Iodine, though are effective
disinfectants but make the taste and odour of water unpleasant.
 Filter Cost & Life Cycle – The life cycle of filter should be as much as possible at minimum
price.
 Easy to Clean – the device should be designed in a way that regular cleaning becomes easy.

Within the Outdoor Equipment Category, The needs of user are a bit more advanced,

 Ergonomics – The devices are expected to be easy to handle and use.

 Portability – The devices must be light weighted and easy to carry.
 Durability – The devices are expected to be long lasting as well as rugged enough to survive
the outside harsh environment.
 Capacity – The device should have an optimal capacity, not too small and not too large that
makes it difficult to carry.

2. Classification of User needs:

Type of Need Need Reason/Argument

Must Haves  Removing Micro-Biological It is the core benefit of the product to
Pathogens remove the microbes and harmful chemicals
 Removing Harmful Chemicals
Linear Satisfiers  Ergonomics Easy Handling, usage and carrying along with
 Portability ensuring optimal capacity is expected of a
 Capacity product meant for Backpackers and Campers
Delighters  Removing other Chemicals Improving Taste and odour of water while
 Durability ability to withstand rough usage and easy
 Easy to Clean maintenance may not be expected but if
 Filter Life Cycle given could enhance the perceived value
Neutral  Colour & Appearance It’s a utility product, hence appearance is
redundant
 Ergonomics
Utility v/s Ergonomics

Platter

Utility

First Pocket
Need Filter

3. Competitor’s Products

Attribute First Need Pocket Filter Platter

Bacteria Removal Yes Yes Yes
Protozoa Removal Yes Yes Yes
Virus Removal No No No
Pesticide Removal Yes Yes Yes
Refining Taste/Odour Yes No Yes
Filter Cost $29.95 $130 < $40
Ease of Cleaning N/A Poor Good
Ergonomics Bad Bad Good
Portability Moderate Moderate Moderate
Durability Poor Poor Good
Capacity Moderate Moderate Moderate
Patent No Yes Yes
Price $38-60 $225-275 $40-50

4. Outstanding concept for Water Purification Device for Backpackers and Campers

Apart from the core benefits of removing harmful microbes and chemicals, the ergonomics, portability
and durability are the major characteristics of a Water Purification Device. Based on this a device with
a compact design (shape of a bottle) with an inbuilt filter and inlet pump could ideal to meet the
desired wants. Also, sensors that can detect the level of microbes, chemicals and water level with a
display could be an augmented product and premium can be charged on it. Also this
technology/design can be patented which will act as a competitive advantage.

e.g. Sawyer Water Purification devices are compact in design as mentioned above, but they do not
have the augmented version of the product yet.

*(Based on our secondary research - Sawyer Link)